About

At the age of 72, Mary Delany (1700–1788) embarked on a remarkable project: over the next decade, she created nearly a thousand cut-paper illustrations of flowers and plants, stopping only when her eyesight failed in 1784. Carefully cutting and pasting coloured papers onto black backgrounds, she produced images that were not only exquisitely beautiful but also valued for their scientific accuracy. Mrs. Delany’s 'paper mosaicks', as she called them, are now housed in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum.

This talk will explore how these impressive works were made and connect them to broader histories of botanical illustration and female artistic achievement.

Dr. Francesca Kaes, Monument Trust Curator of British Drawings at the British Museum’s Department of Prints and Drawings, will deliver the talk.

The event schedule is as follows:

• 17:30–18:00 – Exhibition entry for The Botanical World of Mary Delany and Georgie Hopton: A Domestic Arrangement

• 18:00–19:00 – Talk by Dr. Francesca Kaes, followed by time for questions

The event will take place in the Servants’ Hall at No. 1 Royal Crescent. The venue is accessible via stairs or lift. Guests requiring assistance are asked to contact the team before booking or to visit the accessibility page on the website: https://no1royalcrescent.org.uk/accessibility-info/.